Linggo, Disyembre 15, 2013

A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF A GRADUATE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN TEACHING SPECIAL EDUCATION IN MENTAL RETARDATION FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES



By FE ZAMORA LOBIANO


INTRODUCTION

The biographical sketch that this writer is undertaking focuses on the subject George Vail Kabristante who comes from Bindoy (formely Payabon), Negros Oriental, Philippines. The Vail  stands for Vailoces, his middle name. He has used this as part of  his pen name since he started working for the movie industry in Manila.
My rationale for choosing him as my subject matter for the biographical sketch at hand is mainly because George Vail Kabristante is the first alumnus from Foundation University of Dumaguete City to earn a graduate course in Master of Arts in Teaching Special Education in Mental Retardation at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, school year  1972 -73.
This is beside the post-masteral units he earned in the same university in Special Education, Guidance Counseling and Psychology which qualify him to conduct psychological testing for special children and regular clientele.
The sketch aims to provide additional information and resource materials relative to the development, growth and consciousness about the need for human resources relative to  Special Education in the province of  Negros Oriental.    
My research methodology is biographical. By this I limit myself to the facts that  Kabristante has volunteered to disclose with me in my interview with him through my cell phone and  some answers to my  questions which I sent to him through e-mails.

FAMILY AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND     

George Vail Kabristante comes from a family of teachers. His aunt Hilaria K. Gallego was a grade school teacher in Manjuyod District.
 His father Eduardo Banjao Kabristante was a head teacher for some years teaching grade four pupils in Malaga Elementary School and later in Bindoy Elementary School.
          The eighth among 10 siblings, Kabristante  studied primary and elementary school respectively at Malaga and Bindoy and finished high school at Central Negros Academy, Manjuyod, Negros Oriental.
His two other elder siblings Leonor Kabristante-Agop and Violeta Kabristante-Zamora were graduates of Education courses and were public school teachers themselves in Manjuyod and Bindoy respectively.
He other siblings hold a degree in Nursing, Chemistry, Law and technical/vocation education.
          Kabristante took up Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at Foundation University, Dumaguete City.
In his senior year in 1969 at Foundation University, he was hired as a teaching assistant in the College of Education where he was made to teach some Education subjects in college.
          In his senior year in college, he was chosen one of the Ten Outstanding Students.
He was for a time a Managing Editor and Editor as well for Foundation Time, the university’s school organ. He also edited The Pillar, the university’s college annual.
          On passing the Civil Service Examination for Teachers, Kabristante was at once employed as an elementary school teacher for grade six pupils in Kayotisan Elementary School, Manjuyod , Negrors Oriental District for a couple of years, after which he decided to take up graduate studies from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

GRADUATE SCHOOL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

          In 1971, Kabristante enrolled in the College of Education of the University of the Phil., Graduate School of Education a masteral course in Special Education in Mental Retardation at the Department of Special Education under Dean Matilde Valdez .
The same department also offered other specialized courses at the masteral level  in Mental Giftedness and Behavior Problems.
On their own, Kabristante,  Gigi Harn Graulty and Fred Manlave  were the only three graduate students who  curiously enrolled in said masteral course.
The rest who enrolled in the three  aforementioned courses were teachers from different public schools throughout the country whose tuition, board and lodging and stipends were financed by the Department of Education in their capacities as government scholars.
          In the school year 1972-73, he finished Master of Arts In Teaching Special Education in Mental Retardation. Upon graduation, he was hired to teach by Dean Matilde Valdez at the Department of Special Education, Graduate School of the College Education to teach the incoming batch of  government scholars.
          After a year of teaching at the Department of Special Education, he was invited to head the Student Organizations and Activities Division at the University of the Philippines, Los Banos  for three years with the position of Guidance Counselor, after which he went back to UP Diliman to serve as one of the  Guidance Counselors at the College of Arts and Sciences headed by Dr. Olsen.
          After a couple of years as Guidance Counselor to college students in said university, Kabristante went on to practice privately his knowledge in Special Education mainly in the assessment, evaluation and diagnosis  of the capacities of special education children both in private and public schools.
          The practice went on for years until he met the wife of former Senator Heherson Alvarez, Cecile Guidote Alvarez who is the Executive Director of  UNESCO Phil. Center for ITI (International Theater for Institute), former Executive Director of           NCCA (National Commission for Culture and the Arts) and now National Artist for Theater.

FACULTY MEMBER OF EARTHSAVERS DREAMS ENSEMBLE

Kabristante was invited by Mrs. Alvarez to join the faculty of the EARTHSAVERS DREAMS (Development, Rehabilitation, Education thru Arts, Media & Sciences) ENSEMBLE , a performing group of special children and young adults composed of Down Syndrome, Deaf, Blind, Paraplegic, and other socially-disadvantaged children like street kids, etc. based at Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife, Quezon City, also  known as PAWB (Parks and Wildlife Bureau), Quezon City.
          Kabristante’s efforts along with other faculty members of EARTHSAVERS DREAMS ENSEMBLE through the leadership of then PETA (Phil. Educational Theater Association) Cecile Guidote-Alvarez brought highest honor to the country when aforementioned Ensemble during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was adjudged UNESCO AMBASSADOR FOR PEACE, an annual award given to deserving artist or performing group of artists picked out form nominees worldwide.
The award was given in a grand ceremony at the UNESCO Headquarter in Paris, France with some of the faculty of  EARTHSAVERS DREAMS ENSEMBLE, Pres. Arroyo, Preciosa Soliven with her late husband Max Soliven  and Mrs. Alvarez herself receiving the awards on behalf of the said Ensemble.


ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF BALINTATAW FILM & THEATER ARTS-UNESCO PHIL. CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL THEATER INSTITUTE


To date Kabristante heads Balintataw Film & Theaters Arts under the UNESCO Phil. Center for ITI in his capacity as Artistic Director with co-founder Marcelino Cavestany, Jr. who is now based in Sydney, Australia.
          Note that UNESCO Phil. Center for ITI ( International Theater Institute) is an organization of theater artists worldwide headed by its Founding Director Cecile Guidote Alvarez.
Balintataw is from the title of one of the longest-running weekly anthologies produced and hosted by Mrs. Alvarez at her PETA ((Phil. Educational Theater Association) turf which she founded and aired on Channel 4 before Martial Law and shortly after Edsa's People Power when Mrs. Alvarez and husband Senator Heherson returned from their exile in the States.
Having successfully developed a nationalist theater thru PETA (Phil. Educational Theater Assoc.) which won for her a Ramon Magsaysay Award & the youngest to win it, Cecile put up a theater for the marginalized ( physically and mentally challenged, street kids, deaf, abused women and children, etc.)  
EARTHSAVERS DREAMS ENSEMBLE moreover is  a theater group advocating environmental education through theater arts where Mrs. Alvarez on an official memorandum starting from the term of Pres. Cory Aquino, Pres. Fidel Ramos, Pres. Joseph Estrada Ejercito up to the term of  Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo  then held an office she named Ninoy Aguino Hall at PAWB including a TV studio, and a sunken garden stage.
Some of Cecile's Artistic Directors at PAWB, movie and theater actors like Siegfred Sepulvida, Joe Gruta and Angie Ferro.
The tandem of Cavestany & Kabristante however also held outreach acting workshops and productions for theater and films in the direction of Cecile's advocacy. Kabristante with  Cavestany as screenwriter  has directed  for stage, TV and films , namely  " Uod Sa Laman, " “The Diary of A Liar,”  (unreleased) and the recent version of “Noli Me Tangere.”
          Kabristante also writes for culture, lifestyle and entertainment in local broadsheets and   and tabloids.
          He is in the list of writing fellows to the  Annual National Writers Workshop at Silliman University, Dumaguete City and in Palihang Aurelio Tolentino, Quezon City.
    He is anthologized in  book titled "World Theater" published by
Routledge, Paris, France under the auspices of the  UNESCO- ITI
(International Theater Institute). 
    His research on Filipino  migrants working as domestic helpers in
Italy was anthologized in an Italian on-line monograph in Milan, Italy.
    He also wrote the biography of a popular Filipino actor Gabby
Concepcion titled "Gabby."
    He is a member of  NPC (National Press Club of the Philippines),
PMPC (Philippine Movie Press Club, Inc.), Writers Bloc, an association of emerging and established playwrights of the country headed by Rody Vera and PETA (Phil. Educational Theater Assoc.)Writers Pool headed by  Tim Dacanay.

TRAVEL GRANTS ABROAD UNDER THE AUSPIECES OF UNESCO-PHIL. ITI

    On travel grants by UNESCO- Phil. ITI, George Vail Kabristante has had  several theater conferences/ acting workshops/seminars in The Actors Studio (Australia), Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute (Hollywood), La Mama Theater (New York) including  Italy, Mexico, Greece, Cyprus, Russia, Japan,  Malaysia, Korea, etc.
          He has taught/lectured mass communications subjects (Writing Scripts for TV & Films) at the Institute of UP Mass Com. and at the Educational Technology Dept. UP, Graduate School, Diliman, Q.C. including teaching stints at  St. Paul’s College, Manila; Phil Normal University.   
PUBLICATIONS AND RESEARCHES
His research paper on Philippine theater has been anthologized in a book by Routledge Publication (Paris, France).  
He was on travel grant by UNESCO Phil. ITI sent to Seijo University, Japan  to read a paper on the cultural and theater landscape of the Philippines.
His research on women migrants in Italy was published by an Italian Foundation for  women migrants in Italy, during which time in his stay at Italy as cultural worker for Phil. Center for UNESCO-ITI  he directed  a musical on the life of San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila which was staged at the Vatican, Rome and Milan.
He has published a book titled “Gabby,” a biography of the actor Gabby Concepcion and has been commissioned to write the biography of Filemon Barbasa, the man behind Filbar who pioneered in the distribution of  English comics titles for local market.
As Artistic Director of UNESO-Phil. Centre for ITI, he handles to the present the actor’s workshop component for regular and special children that includes empowerment workshops for teachers, community leaders,  aspiring actors wanting to join show business.
A writing fellow to the National Summer Writers Workshop,  Silliman University & Palihang Aurelio Tolentino, he has written several screenplays, designed,  directed and co-produced as well for TV, film and stage and has worked for the productions of Lily Monteverde aka Mother Lily of Regal Films, Directors Celso Ad Castillo, Cecile Guidote Alvarez, Maryo J. Delos Reyes,  Emmanuel Borlaza, Edd Palmos,  Deo J. Fajardo, Jr. , Efren Pinon, Willy Milan, producers Robbie Tan,  Sofronio Blando of Agrix Films, etc. and as script reviewer/doctor of the late William Leary for Viva Films.
As multi-media artist, he has directed for stage,  film ( “Uod Sa Laman,” unreleased “Diary of a Liar” and the recent version of “Noli Me Tangere,”  & TV (“Balintataw Drama Anthology,” & “Celebrity Night of Dance & Music”) including advocacy commercials/documentaries for the environment, reproductive health, breast cancer, theater for  persons with intellectual disabilities, etc.
He collaborated in writing and designing “Sali-Salising Buhay” (Intertwining Lives), a soap opera series on social development produced & hosted by Cecile Guidote Alvarez for Balintataw TV anthology which was given an unprecedented honor of having been amply featured on CNN by host-producer Barbra Pyle and in international habitat summits moderated by  Jane Fonda.  
He is also with the Writers Bloc, a group of veteran, active and emerging playwrights who annually stage their new “virgin” plays at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Several of his  plays had been staged at the CCP for the Annual Virgin Labfest.
          In random order, George Vail Kabristante's  works among others, include:

FILM DIRECTION
1. "NOLI ME TANGERE"
2. "DIARY OF A LIAR" (Unreleased)
3. "UOD SA LAMAN"

TV DIRECTION
1. "BALINTATAW" produced/hosted by Cecile Guidote Alvarez
2. "CELEBRITY NIGHT OF DANCE & MUSIC" produced/hosted by Willy Espiritu

THEATER DIRECTION
1. "SAN LORENZO RUIZ DE MANILA" staged in Milan, Rome & Vatican
2. "NANG MAGALIT SI MARIANG SINUKUAN" staged in PAWB  (Parks &
Wildlife Bureau)Auditorium, Q.C. & Luneta Park, Manila.
3. "MOVIE REPORTERS ON THE LOOSE" staged in Camelot Hotel,Q.C. Makati
Theater, Makati City,  University of the Phil.,  College of Education
Auditorium, Q.C., Jaloux Disco Club, Q.C., PAWB Auditorium, Jingle Extra
 Hot Restaurant,Q.C.  Zirkoh Morato Restaurant, Q.C.
4. "HANGGANG DITO NA LAMANG AT MARAMING SALAMAT" staged at 690
Restaurant,Retiro, Q.C.
5. "AROUND THE WORLD" staged in Manila, Compostela, Cebu City, Makati
City, & Angeles City.
6. "PARAISONG PARISUKAT" staged in DAR (Dept. of Agrarian Reform),
Quezon City.
7. "ANG BABAENG NATINTAHAN" staged in PAWB Auditorium, Q.C.
8. "PAGLILITIS NI MANG SERAPIO" staged in University of the Phil., Los
Banos.

SCREENPLAYS(Film)
1. "BOMBA QUEEN" directed by Efren Pinon
2. "KICKOUTS" directed by Deo J. Fajardo, Jr
3. "UOD SA LAMAN" directed by George Vail Kabristante
4. "DIARY OF A LIAR" (unreleased)  directed by George Vail Kabristante
5. "NOLI ME TANGERE" with co-writer MARCELINO CAVESTANY, Jr. directed by  George Vail Kabristante
6. "KASAL O ASAWA" directed by Tom Adrales
7. "HAMUNIN ANG BUKAS" co-written and directed by Marcelino Cavestany, Jr. 

PRODUCTION DESIGN (Film)
1. "PIKOY GOES TO MALAYSIA" directed by Celso Ad Castillo
2. "ANG DAIGDIG AY ISANG BUTIL NA LUHA" directed by Celso Ad Castillo
3. "PEDRO TUNASAN: (As art director) directed by Celso Ad Castillo
4. "CARNAVAL" directed by Chew Tze Chuan
5. "KAMPUS" directed by Emmanuel H. Borlaza
6. "SAMPAGUITANG WALANG HALIMUYAK" directed by Mike Relon-Makiling
7. "HIRAM NA MUKHA" directed by Efren Pinon
8. "HAMUNIN ANG BUKAS" directed by Marcelino Cavestany, Jr.

PRODUCTION DESIGN (TV)
1. "SALI-SALISING BUHAY" (Lives Intertwined), a teleserye under Balintataw Drama Anthology  directed by a pool of directors
2. "BALINTATAW" TV Special on Earth Day.

PRODUCTION DESIGN (Stage)
1. "MUSLIM A-BABAI (TROJAN WOMEN)directed by Nicos Shiafkalis
2. "MOVIE REPORTERS ON THE LOOSE" directed by George Vail Kabristante
3. "ANG ALAMAT NG MANGGA" directed by Cecile Guidote Alvarez

THEATER (As actor)
1. "PAGLILITIS NI MANG SERAPIO" directed by Tom Adrales
2. "BOMBITA" directed by Marcelino Cavestany, Jr.
3. "BARIKADA" directed by Behn Cervantes
4. "ORINOLA" directed by Behn Cervantes

His name: george vail kabristante can be Googled in the internet  for his other works in relation to education, culture and arts.
oOo



Ipinaskil ni sa Walang komento:

A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF A GRADUATE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN TEACHING SPECIAL EDUCATION IN MENTAL RETARDATION FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES


By FE ZAMORA LOBIANO


The biographical sketch that this writer is undertaking focuses on the subject George Vail Kabristante who comes from Bindoy (formerly Payabon), Negros Oriental, Philippines. The Vail  stands for Vailoces, his middle name. He has used this as part of  his pen name since he started working for the movie industry in Manila.
My rationale for choosing him as my subject matter for the biographical sketch at hand is mainly because George Vail Kabristante is the first alumnus from Foundation University of Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental  to earn a graduate course in Master of Arts in Teaching Special Education in Mental Retardation at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, school year  1972 -73.
This is beside the post-masteral units he earned in the same university in Special Education, Guidance Counseling and Psychology which qualify him to conduct psychological testing for special children and regular clientele.
The sketch aims to provide additional information and resource materials relative to the development, growth and consciousness about the need for human resources relative to  Special Education in the province of  Negros Oriental.    
My research methodology is biographical. By this I limit myself to the most recent facts that  Kabristante has volunteered to disclose with me in my interview with him through my cell phone and  some answers to my  questions which I sent to him through e-mails.

FAMILY AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND     

George Vail Kabristante comes from a family of teachers. His aunt Hilaria K. Gallego was a grade school teacher in Manjuyod District.
 His father Eduardo Banjao Kabristante was a head teacher for some years teaching grade four pupils in Malaga Elementary School and later in Bindoy Elementary School.
          The eighth among 10 siblings, Kabristante  studied primary and elementary school respectively at Malaga and Bindoy and finished high school at Central Negros Academy, Manjuyod, Negros Oriental.
His two other elder siblings Leonor Kabristante-Agop and Violeta Kabristante-Zamora were graduates of Education courses and were public school teachers themselves in Manjuyod and Bindoy respectively.
He other siblings hold a degree in Nursing, Chemistry, Law and technical/vocation education.
          Kabristante took up Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at Foundation University, Dumaguete City.
In his senior year in 1969 at Foundation University, he was hired as a teaching assistant in the College of Education where he was made to teach some Education subjects in college.
        In his senior year in college, he was chosen one of the Ten Outstanding Students.
He was for a time a Managing Editor and Editor as well for Foundation Time, the university’s school organ. He also edited The Pillar, the university’s college annual.
          On passing the Civil Service Examination for Teachers, Kabristante was at once employed as an elementary school teacher for grade six pupils in Kayotisan Elementary School, Manjuyod , Negrors Oriental District for a couple of years, after which he decided to take up graduate studies from the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

GRADUATE SCHOOL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

          In 1971, Kabristante enrolled in the College of Education of the University of the Phil., Graduate School of Education a masteral course in Special Education in Mental Retardation at the Department of Special Education under Dean Matilde Valdez .
The same department also offered other specialized courses at the masteral level  in Mental Giftedness and Behavior Problems.
On their own, Kabristante,  Gigi Harn Graulty and Fred Manlave were the only three graduate students who  curiously enrolled in said masteral course.
The rest who enrolled in the three  aforementioned courses were teachers from different public schools throughout the country whose tuition, board and lodging and stipends were financed by the Department of Education in their capacities as government scholars.
          In the school year 1972-73, he finished Master of Arts In Teaching Special Education in Mental Retardation. Upon graduation, he was hired to teach by Dean Matilde Valdez at the Department of Special Education, Graduate School of the College Education to teach the incoming batch of  government scholars and other students. 
          After a year of teaching at the Department of Special Education, he was invited to head the Student Organizations and Activities Division at the University of the Philippines, Los Banos  for three years with the position of Guidance Counselor, after which he went back to UP Diliman to serve as one of the  Guidance Counselors at the College of Arts and Sciences headed by Dr. Olsen.
          After a couple of years as Guidance Counselor to college students in said university, Kabristante went on to practice privately his knowledge in Special Education mainly in the assessment, evaluation and diagnosis  of the capacities of special education children both in private and public set-up.
        The practice went on for years until he met the wife of former Senator Heherson Alvarez, Cecile Guidote Alvarez who is the Executive Director of  UNESCO Phil. Center for ITI (International Theater for Institute), former Executive Director of           NCCA (National Commission for Culture and the Arts) and now National Artist for Theater.

FACULTY MEMBER OF EARTHSAVERS DREAMS ENSEMBLE

Kabristante was invited by Mrs. Alvarez to join the faculty of the EARTHSAVERS DREAMS (Development, Rehabilitation, Education thru Arts, Media & Sciences) ENSEMBLE , a performing group of special children and young adults composed of Down Syndrome, Deaf, Blind, Paraplegic, and other socially-disadvantaged children like street kids, etc. based at Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife, Quezon City, also  known as PAWB (Parks and Wildlife Bureau), Quezon City.
  Kabristante’s efforts along with other faculty members of EARTHSAVERS DREAMS ENSEMBLE through the leadership of then PETA (Phil. Educational Theater Association) Cecile Guidote-Alvarez brought highest honor to the country when aforementioned Ensemble during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was adjudged UNESCO AMBASSADOR FOR PEACE, an annual award given to deserving artist or performing group of artists picked out form nominees worldwide.
The award was given in a grand ceremony at the UNESCO Headquarter in Paris, France with some of the faculty of  EARTHSAVERS DREAMS ENSEMBLE, Pres. Arroyo, Preciosa Soliven with her late husband Max Soliven  and Mrs. Alvarez herself receiving the awards on behalf of the said Ensemble.


ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF BALINTATAW FILM & THEATER ARTS-UNESCO PHIL. CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL THEATER INSTITUTE


To date Kabristante heads Balintataw Film & Theaters Arts under the UNESCO Phil. Center for ITI in his capacity as Artistic Director with co-founder Marcelino Cavestany, Jr. who is now based in Sydney, Australia.
     Note that UNESCO Phil. Center for ITI ( International Theater Institute) is an organization of theater artists worldwide headed by its Founding Director Cecile Guidote Alvarez.
Balintataw is from the title of one of the longest-running weekly anthologies produced and hosted by Mrs. Alvarez at her PETA ((Phil. Educational Theater Association) turf which she founded and aired on Channel 4 before Martial Law and shortly after Edsa's People Power when Mrs. Alvarez and husband Senator Heherson returned from their exile in the States. 
Having successfully developed a nationalist theater thru PETA (Phil. Educational Theater Assoc.) which won for her a Ramon Magsaysay Award & the youngest to win it, Cecile put up a theater for the marginalized ( physically and mentally challenged, street kids, deaf, abused women and children, etc.)  
EARTHSAVERS DREAMS ENSEMBLE moreover is  a theater group advocating environmental education through theater arts where Mrs. Alvarez on an official memorandum starting from the term of Pres. Cory Aquino, Pres. Fidel Ramos, Pres. Joseph Estrada Ejercito up to the term of  Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo  then held an office she named Ninoy Aguino Hall at PAWB including a TV studio, and a sunken garden stage.
Some of Cecile's Artistic Directors at PAWB, movie and theater actors like Siegfred Sepulvida, Joe Gruta and Angie Ferro.
The tandem of Cavestany & Kabristante however also held outreach acting workshops and productions for theater and films in the direction of Cecile's advocacy. Kabristante with  Cavestany as screenwriter  has directed  for stage, TV and films , namely  " Uod Sa Laman, " “The Diary of A Liar,”  (unreleased) and the recent version of “Noli Me Tangere.”
         Kabristante also writes for culture, lifestyle and entertainment in local broadsheets and   and tabloids.
      He is in the list of writing fellows to the  Annual National Writers Workshop at Silliman University, Dumaguete City and in Palihang Aurelio Tolentino, Quezon City.
    He is anthologized in  book titled "World Theater" published by
Routledge, Paris, France under the auspices of the  UNESCO- ITI
(International Theater Institute). 
    His research on Filipino  migrants working as domestic helpers in
Italy was anthologized in an Italian on-line monograph in Milan, Italy.
    He also wrote the biography of a popular Filipino actor Gabby
Concepcion titled "Gabby."
    He is a member of  NPC (National Press Club of the Philippines),
PMPC (Philippine Movie Press Club, Inc.), Writers Bloc, an association of emerging and established playwrights of the country headed by Rody Vera and PETA (Phil. Educational Theater Assoc.)Writers Pool headed by  Tim Dacanay.

TRAVEL GRANTS ABROAD UNDER THE AUSPIECES OF UNESCO-PHIL. ITI

    On travel grants by UNESCO- Phil. ITI, George Vail Kabristante has had  several theater conferences/ acting workshops/seminars in The Actors Studio (Australia), Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute (Hollywood), La Mama Theater (New York) including  Italy, Mexico, Greece, Cyprus, Russia, Japan,  Malaysia, Korea, etc.
          He has taught/lectured mass communications subjects (Writing Scripts for TV & Films) at the Institute of UP Mass Com. and at the Educational Technology Dept. UP, Graduate School, Diliman, Q.C. including teaching stints at  St. Paul’s College, Manila; Phil Normal University.   
PUBLICATIONS AND RESEARCHES
His research paper on Philippine theater has been anthologized in a book by Routledge Publication (Paris, France).  
He was on travel grant by UNESCO Phil. ITI sent to Seijo University, Japan  to read a paper on the cultural and theater landscape of the Philippines.
His research on women migrants in Italy was published by an Italian Foundation for  women migrants in Italy, during which time in his stay at Italy as cultural worker for Phil. Center for UNESCO-ITI  he directed  a musical on the life of San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila which was staged at the Vatican, Rome and Milan.
He has published a book titled “Gabby,” a biography of the actor Gabby Concepcion and has been commissioned to write the biography of Filemon Barbasa, the man behind Filbar who pioneered in the distribution of  English comics titles for local market.
As Artistic Director of UNESO-Phil. Centre for ITI, he handles to the present the actor’s workshop component for regular and special children that includes empowerment workshops for teachers, community leaders,  aspiring actors wanting to join show business.
A writing fellow to the National Summer Writers Workshop,  Silliman University & Palihang Aurelio Tolentino, he has written several screenplays, designed,  directed and co-produced as well for TV, film and stage and has worked for the productions of Lily Monteverde aka Mother Lily of Regal Films, Directors Celso Ad Castillo, Cecile Guidote Alvarez, Maryo J. Delos Reyes,  Emmanuel Borlaza, Edd Palmos,  Deo J. Fajardo, Jr. , Efren Pinon, Willy Milan, producers Robbie Tan,  Sofronio Blando of Agrix Films, etc. and as script reviewer/doctor of the late William Leary for Viva Films.
As multi-media artist, he has directed for stage,  film ( “Uod Sa Laman,” unreleased “Diary of a Liar” and the recent version of “Noli Me Tangere,”  & TV (“Balintataw Drama Anthology,” & “Celebrity Night of Dance & Music”) including advocacy commercials/documentaries for the environment, reproductive health, breast cancer, theater for  persons with intellectual disabilities, etc.
He collaborated in writing and designing “Sali-Salising Buhay” (Intertwining Lives), a soap opera series on social development produced & hosted by Cecile Guidote Alvarez for Balintataw TV anthology which was given an unprecedented honor of having been amply featured on CNN by host-producer Barbra Pyle and in international habitat summits moderated by  Jane Fonda.  
He is also with the Writers Bloc, a group of veteran, active and emerging playwrights who annually stage their new “virgin” plays at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
Several of his  plays had been staged at the CCP for the Annual Virgin Labfest.
          In random order, George Vail Kabristante's  works among others, include:

FILM DIRECTION
1. "NOLI ME TANGERE"
2. "DIARY OF A LIAR" (Unreleased)
3. "UOD SA LAMAN"

TV DIRECTION
1. "BALINTATAW" produced/hosted by Cecile Guidote Alvarez
2. "CELEBRITY NIGHT OF DANCE & MUSIC" produced/hosted by Willy Espiritu

THEATER DIRECTION
1. "SAN LORENZO RUIZ DE MANILA" staged in Milan, Rome & Vatican
2. "NANG MAGALIT SI MARIANG SINUKUAN" staged in PAWB  (Parks &
Wildlife Bureau)Auditorium, Q.C. & Luneta Park, Manila.
3. "MOVIE REPORTERS ON THE LOOSE" staged in Camelot Hotel,Q.C. Makati
Theater, Makati City,  University of the Phil.,  College of Education
Auditorium, Q.C., Jaloux Disco Club, Q.C., PAWB Auditorium, Jingle Extra
 Hot Restaurant,Q.C.  Zirkoh Morato Restaurant, Q.C.
4. "HANGGANG DITO NA LAMANG AT MARAMING SALAMAT" staged at 690
Restaurant,Retiro, Q.C.
5. "AROUND THE WORLD" staged in Manila, Compostela, Cebu City, Makati
City, & Angeles City.
6. "PARAISONG PARISUKAT" staged in DAR (Dept. of Agrarian Reform),
Quezon City.
7. "ANG BABAENG NATINTAHAN" staged in PAWB Auditorium, Q.C.
8. "PAGLILITIS NI MANG SERAPIO" staged in University of the Phil., Los
Banos.

SCREENPLAYS(Film)
1. "BOMBA QUEEN" directed by Efren Pinon
2. "KICKOUTS" directed by Deo J. Fajardo, Jr
3. "UOD SA LAMAN" directed by George Vail Kabristante
4. "DIARY OF A LIAR" (unreleased)  directed by George Vail Kabristante
5. "NOLI ME TANGERE" with co-writer MARCELINO CAVESTANY, Jr. directed by  George Vail Kabristante
6. "KASAL O ASAWA" directed by Tom Adrales
7. "HAMUNIN ANG BUKAS" co-written and directed by Marcelino Cavestany, Jr. 

PRODUCTION DESIGN (Film)
1. "PIKOY GOES TO MALAYSIA" directed by Celso Ad Castillo
2. "ANG DAIGDIG AY ISANG BUTIL NA LUHA" directed by Celso Ad Castillo
3. "PEDRO TUNASAN: (As art director) directed by Celso Ad Castillo
4. "CARNAVAL" directed by Chew Tze Chuan
5. "KAMPUS" directed by Emmanuel H. Borlaza
6. "SAMPAGUITANG WALANG HALIMUYAK" directed by Mike Relon-Makiling
7. "HIRAM NA MUKHA" directed by Efren Pinon
8. "HAMUNIN ANG BUKAS" directed by Marcelino Cavestany, Jr.

PRODUCTION DESIGN (TV)
1. "SALI-SALISING BUHAY" (Lives Intertwined), a teleserye under Balintataw Drama Anthology  directed by a pool of directors
2. "BALINTATAW" TV Special on Earth Day.

PRODUCTION DESIGN (Stage)
1. "MUSLIM A-BABAI (TROJAN WOMEN)directed by Nicos Shiafkalis
2. "MOVIE REPORTERS ON THE LOOSE" directed by George Vail Kabristante
3. "ANG ALAMAT NG MANGGA" directed by Cecile Guidote Alvarez

THEATER (As actor)
1. "PAGLILITIS NI MANG SERAPIO" directed by Tom Adrales
2. "BOMBITA" directed by Marcelino Cavestany, Jr.
3. "BARIKADA" directed by Behn Cervantes
4. "ORINOLA" directed by Behn Cervantes

His name: george vail kabristante can be Googled in the internet  for his other works in relation to education, culture and arts.
oOo



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SOME HISTORICAL FOOTNOTES TO THE THOMASITES AND ITS IMPLICATIONS TO THE EDUCATIONAL LANDSCAPE OF THE COUNTRY

By  FE  ZAMORA LOBIANO


INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this article is to focus on some vignettes about the first batch of Thomasites who came to the Philippines, particularly in the island of Negros and how they were perceived by modern-day educators based on my integration of datas sourced out mainly from online research papers and dissertation.

          Negros here would interchangeably refer to Negros Occidental, the capital city of which is Bacolod, Negros Oriental, the  capital city of which is Dumaguete, and Siquijor which was then part of Negros Oriental.

 I will however focus on the list of Thomasites teachers assigned in Negros Oriental as far as the date would indicate based on my research  of the same.

          In hindsight, this article is partly inspired by my late grandfather Eduardo Banjao Kabristante ( from my mother’s side Violeta Kabristante-Zamora) who was a public school teacher in the municipality of Payabon now renamed Bindoy town most of his lifetime until his retirement at age 65.

          In the way of an oral history or oral narratives, my mother Violeta  would hand down to us grandchildren of Eduardo Kabristante some bits of information and vignettes  about my grandfather having  received  indirectly his teacher training exposure or  experience  from teachers who were trained under the original batch of Thomasites teachers who then prepared some Filipino students to become teachers themselves.

One such training institution was held at the Philippine Normal College, Manila.

          In a way, the topic on Thomasites is somehow relatable  to me being a public school teacher myself on the side handling special education classes.  

After all it pays to know one’s history   so one could  learn from its mistakes if any, or build the strength from history necessary for the country to move forward.


BRIEF HISTORY OF THOMASITES’S COMING TO THE PHILIPPINES


A common knowledge by now made accessible by fully-documented materials and books including sources from  Wikipedia tells us that the the Thomasites were  originally a group of about five hundred American teachers sent by the U.S. government to the Philippines in August 1901 who arrived on the transport vessel named  USSS  Thomas. 

The term Thomasites, however, also included  other teachers from the US  who came to the American Colonial Period of the Philippines for the same mission.

The boat which brought educators to the shore of Manila Bay was named USS Thomas, hence the teachers in it were named Thomasites
There were then two batches of American teachers, namely those who were in the original batch of the Thomasites and those who came after it.

According to the Wikipedia which I validated by cross referencing other sources mainly from online publications authored by Saturnino Springer and Robert Earl Springer, Lardizabal, Sianturi, et. al,  the Thomasites arrived in the Philippines on August 21, 1901, to establish a new public school system, to teach basic education, and to train Filipino teachers using English as the medium of instruction.

On a  fully-substantiated data by Wikipedia  USS Thomas  carried in it —365 males and 165 females when it left Pier 12 of San Francisco on July 23, 1901 via the Pacific Ocean to South East Asia.  
It cost the U.S. government to spend about $105,000 for the expedition. This was followed by additional American  teachers   in 1902 bringing the  total of about 1,074 assigned in the Philippines.

The Thomasites were paid $125 dollars a month while in the Philippines although reports indicated that their  salaries were often delayed and sometimes the American teachers were paid in devalued Mexican peso.

It may be recalled however that  earlier on before the arrival of USS Thomas,  the U.S.Army soldiers were already teaching Filipinos the English language.  This made possible the opening of the first public school in Corrigidor Island where most American soldiers after Admiral George Dewey defeated  the Spanish Pacific fleet in a mock battle in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898.
          The situation led then US President William Mckinley to  appoint William Howard Taft to  head a commission that will take charge of continuing the education  started by the U.S. Army. 

Thus,  Taft Commission passed Education Act No. 34 on January 21, 1901, which first established the Department of Public Instruction. The latter was then given the task of establishing a public school system throughout the Philippines. The Taft Commission also authorized the further deployment of 1,000 more educators from the U.S. to the Philippines.

The Thomasites were first quarantined for two days upon their arrival on August 21,1901 at the walled city of Intramuros before they were deployed to their respective provincial assignments which  included among others,  Albay,  Catanduanes, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon,   Masbate, Samar, Zambales, Aparri, Jolo, Negros, Cebu, Dumaguete, Bataan, Batangas, Pangasinan and Tarlac.

THE PIONEERING THOMASITES ASSIGNED IN NEGROS ORIENTAL


Scholars Ninfa Saturnino Springer and Robert Earl Springer in their online research on the Thomasites revealed a  US military report dated April 20, 1900 saying that in the island of Negros   alone there were fifty-nine towns that had schools.

They did not however mention in particular which side of Negros they were referring to.

          I would in random manner mention the towns specifically under the jurisdiction of Negros Oriental province which had been assigned the first batch of Thomasites by the Americans.

This does not  attempt at giving a comprehensive list of the Thomasites’s names as I believe that some names may  have been relatively  omitted due to research limitations.

Here are the names of the Thomasites in random order and their corresponding places of assignments, as follows:  

1.          Rebecca E Berry (Dumaguete, Negros Oriental)
2.          Harry L Brown (Sequijor, Negros Oriental)
3.          Ralph R Blackney (Guijulngan, Negros Oriental)
4.          Gerow D Brill (Negros)
5.          EH Buttles (Sibulan, Negros Oriental)
6.          CE Conant (Bais, Negros Oriental)
7.          James R Fugate (Sequijor, Negros Oriental)
8.          WS Dakin (Bais, Negros Oriental)
9.          Edward Dietrich (San Juan, Negros Oriental)
10.     GW Felton (Bacong, Negros Oriental)
11.     Hayford (Larena, Sequijor, Negros Oriental)
12.      DC Montgomery (Dumaguete, Negros Oriental)
13.       Eva Montgomery (Dumaguete, Negros Oriental)
14.      Joshua B Kirkpatrick (Ayuquitan, Negros Oriental)
15.     J Hatheway (Tanjay, Negros Oriental)
16.      WS Dakin (Bais, Negros Oriental)


The lives of the Thomasites  while in line of duty according to Springer and Springer were not without risks. 

It is due to  the presence of a band of “ladrones” (Spanish term for outlaws)  who to my thinking  resisted the coming of the Americans on the Philippines soil after having experienced earlier oppression from  Spanish colonial regime.

Probably, they “ladrones” took their resistance and anger on the Thomasites which gave a dramatic face to the presence of  American colonialists in the country.

          Springer and Springer in their paper  cited the case of Thomasites Collins who was thrown from a native boat while crossing the strait from Bais, Negros Oriental to Samboan, Cebu,where he was transferred.

          Thomasites D. C. Montgomery, from Wayne, Nebraska, Division Superintendent of Schools for Negros Occidental was murdered by “ladrones” while en route to the towns of Talisay and Bacolod.      

          Four bodies of Thomasites who were on an outing were found dead after a long search.

Some Thomasites  due to inadequate  medical care also  died of epidemics like diphtheria, dysentery, cholera, and smallpox epidemics, mentioning the case of Joseph E. Allen who was stationed in  Cebu when he died of smallpox before  wife and two children.  

Mary Helen H. Fee’s historical account  as a Thomasite teacher deserves special attention in  this article.

 Through her own account one is able in a microscopic way glean from the way with which the Thomasites teachers of her kind interact with the local situation.   
  
 Both authors further wrote, “…While many Thomasites preferred to teach in Manila, Mary Helen Fee was willing to go anywhere. Fee taught school for 8 years, first in Capiz, which she described as as a rich and aristocratic town, and then in Iloilo. She agreed that English be used as a medium of instruction giving emphasis on agricultural and industrial training…Mary Fee was also engaged in the development of practical experiences in self-governing for her students. She organized a society and acting as chairman, called for an election by informal ballot.”

This was her way of  introducing  the concept of democracy by majority rule.

The curriculum in public schools from  1902 to 1935 included the following subjects English, mathematics, general courses, trade courses, agriculture, reading, grammar, geography, housekeeping and household arts like sewing, crocheting and cooking, manual trading, mechanical drawing, freehand drawing and athletics, namely baseball, track and field, tennis, indoor baseball and basketball.
  
CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE THOMASITES TEACHER
         
It can be deduced that the Thomasites built upon what has been laid down by the U.S. Army preferring to continue live in the Philippines after the termination of their teaching assignments.

          As antecedent group of the present-day U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers, the Thomasites can claim having transformed the Philippines into the third largest English-speaking nation in the world.

To honor the Thomasites’s pioneering efforts in education, the Phil. Government put up a  Thomasites Centennial Project with other leading cultural and educational institutions in the Philippines in cooperation with American Studies associations in the Philippines, the Philippine-American Educational Foundation, the Embassy of the United States of America in Manila.

Also U.S. Ambassador John D. Negroponte and ex- Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim joined hands in  dedicating a memorial cemetery for the Thomasites  at Manila North Cemetery.

CROSS-REFERENCE STUDIES ON THE IMPACT OF THOMASITES ON THE EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL LANDSCAPE OF THE COUNTRY
A doctoral dissertation in 1956 at Standford University authored  by Amparo Santamaria Lardizabal  gathered an evaluation of the early American education program by interviewing some living Thomasites in the United States with this question.  “What was the attitude of the people toward the American teachers?"

The answer was, "As far as I have observed the attitude toward the American teachers was excellent. Every place we went we were treated with high regard. We were given preference at banquets, fiestas and dances. The graciousness of the Filipino people was par excellence. Many times we were embarrassed at the attention paid us".

Lardizabal concluded that in the main,  the Thomasites succeeded in attracting to the classroom people of varied intelligence and educational background ,young and old, of both sexes, single and married, from all levels of socio-economic status .
That the students learned English and the language arts; the development of attitudes such as respect for manual labor, zeal for work, fair play, loyalty to duty, and the meaning of democracy.

          Contrary to the aforementioned perception gathered  by Lardizabal from a group of Thomasites themselves, a study titled “Pedagogic Invasion”: The Thomasites in Occupied Philippines by Dinah Roma-Sianturi, Literature Department, De La Salle University, Manila in general looked upon the system of education propagated first by the Thomasites while  often hailed an admirable initiative, was also deceptive if not a treacherous act, not  short of the proverbial Greek Trojan Horse.

Quoting some cross-referenced sources, Sianturi  revealed that these well-meaning American teachers had their own  colonial opinion of their Filipino students, adding that unconsciously, the Thomasites teachers were largely  part of the American colonial education policy.
         
The study pointed out that the directives coming from 
a colonial territory  reached  the actual sites in  discordant form given the fact that it came from the other side of the globe.

          Asserting further that the Thomasites were in a manner of speaking harbingers of implementing colonial educational policies and that their personal accounts tended if not generally  illustrated “history from below”  or history from the point of view of the colonialists. This then relegated to the background the other insightful, rich  narratives of the colonized Filipinos.

 ONLINE SOURCES:
         
1.    The American Contribution to Philippine Education, 1898-1998. Reprinted from the Philippine Free Press, Manila, August 23, 1920.

2.    Lardizabal, Amparo Santamaria. Pioneer American Teachers and Philippine Education. Phoenix Press Inc, 927 Quezon Avenue, Quezon City.

3.    “Pedagogic Invasion”: The Thomasites in Occupied Philippines by Dinah Roma-Sianturi;  Kritika Kultura 12 (2009): 005-026 <www.ateneo.edu/kritikakultura>0© Ateneo de Manila University




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